Guest Editorial: Promoting Optimal Function after Spinal Cord Injury

As physical therapists many of us are involved upon a daily basis with individuals who have spinal cord injury (SCI). While the nation still grieves the passing les than a year ago of Christopher Reeve as physical therapists we know for a like reason many more like him, thus many less fortunate without access to the best possible care We know the human side of the numbers and statistics. Given that greatest in quantity injuries occur in young adults, we are oftentimes in the same peer clump as these individuals and sinewy bonds often form between patient and therapist. I remember well the true first individual with SCI that I treated. I was a fresh grad, practicing for only a not many months, looking forward to my life and career. He was exactly the same age as me a young man with a of recent origin wife and a baby upon the way. I was struck by means of a revelation as if by the agency of a slap-SCI knows no boundaries. There is no genetic predisposition (unles individual counts the Y chromosome), no prevention (other than staying abiding-place and doing nothing) and, as however no 'cure.' These days I am continually faced with the questions that face every physical therapist who works with individuals with SCI, and as the mother of a young son I grieve with mothers who call in search of answers when their possess sons have experienced a spinal cord injury. on the other hand there is also joy in the trust that today, more than at any time before, there are so many exciting interventions being proofed and we seem to be just upon the brink of finding a combination that will bring go [i]or[/i] come back of neural function.

There has undoubtedly been amazing progres in the treatment of SCI since the days of ancient Egypt when this disorder was described as "an ailment not to be treated,"1 on the other hand there is still much work to be done. The life expectancy of individuals with SCI, while increasing progressively in novel decades, is still less than that of nondisabled individuals. Increasingly higher horizontals of injury continue to be associated with decreasing life expectancy- Further, while the Americans with Disabilities Act legislates equal rights for individuals with disabilities similar as SCI, there are still numerous hurdle that must be faced by dint of these individuals on a daily basis. While these are not likely to be completely eliminated until the advent of an intervention (or combination of interventions) that can fortunately restore neural function, progress in technology gives those with disability access to many opportunities that were previously on the outside of reach. There is plenteous that can be done today to improve the quality, and quantity, of life for individuals with SCI.

The goal of this series upon SCI rehabilitation is 2-fold: (1) to highlight the state-of -the-science in interventions aimed at promoting restoration of function, and (2) to not absent new perspectives on selected aspects of rehabilitation. While it would be impossible to touch upon every domain of these broad topics, the faith is that these articles will give the practicing clinician a foundation in the in every one's mouth science related to spinal cord neuroregeneration, to provide a resource for therapists who are faced with questions about clinical trails, and to draw attention to more [i]or[/i] less innovative rehabilitation approaches that are not nevertheless widely known. Accordingly, the authors of these articles are varied and range the gamut from world-class neuroscientists (coauthor Dr Mary Bartlett Bunge is the first honoree to receive the Mika Salpeter Women in Neuroscience Lifetime Achievement Award) who toil away in labs to practicing clinicians who work upon the front lines in the effort to improve function in those with SCI. Regardless of their focus or area of expertise, all of the authors in this series make an indisputable contribution to improving the lives of individuals with SCI, as do the countles physical therapists who work with these individuals each day.

REFERENCES

1 National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and pat Spinal Cord Injury: Hope [i]or[/i] part of to the other Research. Available at: http://www.mnds.nih.gov/disorders/sci/ detail_sci.htm. Accessed April 14 2005

2 National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center Facts and Figures at a Glance. Available at: http://www.spinal cord.uab.edu. Accessed December 18 2004

Edelle (Edee) Field-Fote, PhD PT visitor Editor

Copyright Neurology Report Jun 2005

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